NEW YORK — Your car is spying on you.

That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas last week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk’s company was impressive but also shines a spotlight on a difficult question as vehicles become less like cars and more like computers on wheels.

Is your car company violating your privacy rights?

“You might want law enforcement to have the data to crack down on criminals, but can anyone have access to it?” said Jodi Daniels, CEO of privacy consulting firm Red Clover Advisors. “Where is the line?”

Many of the latest cars not only know where you’ve been and where you are going, but also often have access to your contacts, your call logs, your texts and other sensitive information thanks to cellphone syncing.

The data collected by Musk’s electric car company after the Cybertruck packed with fireworks burst into flames in front of the Trump International Hotel on Jan. 1 proved valuable to police in helping track the driver’s movements.

Within hours of the New Year’s Day explosion that burned the driver beyond recognition and injured seven, Tesla was able to track Matthew Livelsberger’s movements in detail from Denver to Las Vegas, and also confirm that the problem was explosives in the truck, not the truck itself. Tesla used data collected from charging stations and from onboard software — and to great acclaim.

“I have to thank Elon Musk, specifically,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. “He gave us quite a bit of additional information.”

Some privacy experts were less enthusiastic.

“It reveals the kind of sweeping surveillance going on,” said David Choffnes, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. “When something bad happens, it’s helpful, but it’s a double-edged sword. Companies that collect this data can abuse it.”

Cars equipped with cameras to enable self-driving features have added a new security risk. Tesla itself came under fire after Reuters reported how employees from 2019 through 2022 shared drivers’ sensitive videos and recordings with each other, including videos of road rage incidents and, in one case, nudity.

Tesla did not respond to emailed questions about its privacy policy. On its website, Tesla says it follows strict rules for keeping names and information private.

Auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid at Telemetry Insight said he doesn’t think Tesla is “especially worse” than other auto companies in handling customer data, but he is still concerned.

“This is one of the biggest ethical issues we have around modern vehicles. They’re connected,” he said. “Consumers need to have control over their data.”

Daniels, the privacy consultant, believes that new national laws are needed because rules have not kept up with technology.

“I think law enforcement should have access to data that can help them solve things quickly,” she said. “But we have a right to privacy.”